FLINTS weekly children and caregiver sessions + monthly inner work offerings; informed by the unique coastal chalk reef setting of Cliftonville, Kent, UK.
ABOUT
Observing the seasonal changes to the sea and all its biodiversity, FLINTS sessions for 0-5yr olds* apply ‘Children in Permaculture’ principles of Earth/Sea Care, Fair Share, and People Care. Multilingual group facilitators and translation aids are provided to bridge the language barriers between the diverse communities of Cliftonville.
A free/sliding scale entrance allows the group to be accessible for all.
The carefully held structure of nature crafts, singing activities and free play will follow Waldorf principles that create a rhythm of ‘Breathing In’ and ‘Breathing Out’. Tool storage, toilets and kitchen facilities for inside activities will be provided by the artist-run project space, Newgate Gap.
All our facilitators are Enhanced DBS checked and fully child safeguarding certified.
FLINTS host monthly offerings for caregivers. These include; workshops with trauma-informed practitioners and attachment parenting advocates; a luna calendar series of sharing circles; family constellation therapies; mensuration cycle group; Decolonized Non-Violent Communication offerings, providing extra support to the FLINTS community (offered in multiple languages).
*older siblings welcome with prior agreement.
With kind support from
Newgate Gap CIC - Founders
The Newgate Gap is an artist-run project space cut into the chalk cliffs of the Newgate Gap causeway. Since 2017 the gallery has held numerous exhibitions including a rolling programme called ‘Invasive Species’ and more recently ‘Doomer Mommy’ by Ella Fleck.
On the path of raising and home educating their young children together, the founders are on a collaborative journey moving away from systemic structures of learning. Instead following the intuitive connections between nurture and knowledge.
FLINTS has evolved from an inspiring connection with The New School Canterbury’s toddler and caregivers group Brambles and all those at the school that hold holistic learning close to their hearts. The Newgate Gap are very pleased to have established FLINTS with the highly experienced Helen Smith and Jo Barker of Future Food Forests CIC and Windmill Community Gardens, who are the weekly facilitators.
Fiona Gauntlett - Founding Contributor
Leader of the woodland Brambles toddler and caregivers group at The New School Canterbury, Fiona has been at the centre of founding FLINTS, gifting her many years of Waldorf living learning experience and intuition to the coastline of Cliftonville.
Fiona is a talented creative herself, is a Intuition Coach and makes handmade gifts with her partner Ben for their family run studio www.graftshandmade.co.uk
Helen Smith - Facilitator
Motivated by a love of learning and the natural world.
Founder of Natural Whitstable and Altogether Extraordinary and Co-founder of Future Food Forests CIC.
Helen has worked with children and families for over 30 years (including the last 4 years at the Windmill Community Gardens) covering a wide range of settings, ages and abilities and advocates for neurodiverse families locally. She has the ‘NVQ level 3 Childcare and Education’ qualification and more recently completed the Children in Permaculture Practitioners Course. The time she spent at art college kindled a keen interest in natural crafts.
Jo Barker - Facilitator
Loves working with families, being creative, food forests and the natural world.
Jo is an attachment parent, founded on her own experience of natural pregnancy and birth, baby carrying, diet, celebrating the seasons, non violent communication. Jo has been inspired by permaculture thinking and has worked for many years with many families and children of all ages in environmental education.
Jo co-coordinated a permaculture and Waldorf-inspired Dads and Toddlers programme at Aylsham Neighbourhood Centre and local community farm. This involved bushcraft, nature based crafts and cooking and updating of tools, classrooms and a toddler garden with equipment and plants.
Jo has previously worked at the Windmill Community Gardens, Margate 3 years and was holiday cover for the cabbage patch parent and toddler group. She has also worked with The New School Canterbury, leading a term of Nature Connection and Foraging classes.
Most recently Jo has founded “We are a Nature”, a young person’s permaculture project. Jo founded Future Food Forests CIC with FLINTS co-facilitator Helen Smith in 2021.
Jo has professional training in Landscape Architecture and Kinesiology Energy medicine as well as Life Coaching. Her core work is designing and making Forest Food gardens that are edible, healing and great for wildlife.
’I am not a perfect parent but one who has been fortified by the permaculture journey. All of my work has the natural world at the core and our human connection to it inspired by permaculture. My daughter has flown the nest now and our lovely journey continues.’
